Dispose of Humayun Azad attempted murder case in 6 months

HC asks lower court

Star Online Report

Professor Humayun Azad

The High Court today directed a Dhaka court to dispose of in six months a case filed for attempting to murder Dhaka University Professor Humayun Azad. The court also ordered the prosecution to produce the witnesses in the case before the trial court for placing their statements in this regard. The court came up with the order during hearing of a bail petition filed by a detained accused in the case. On February 27, 2004, miscreants injured Azad by sharp weapons when he was trying to catch a rickshaw for home from Ekushey Boi Mela on the Bangla Academy premises. The case now remains pending with the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Dhaka. During the hearing of the bail petition of accused Mizanur Rahman Minhaz, the HC also expressed dissatisfaction over the lengthy proceedings of the case and asked both the defence and the prosecution to remain vigilance so that the case is disposed of within six months, assistant attorney general Gazi Md Mamunur Rashid told The Daily Star. The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Mohammad Ullah passed the order.

Minhaz, who gave confessional statement before the trial court, has filed the bail petition in 2011. A day after the killing attempt, Azad's brother Manjur Kabir filed an attempted murder case with Ramna Police Station against some unnamed people. The police submitted a charge sheet before a Dhaka court on November 14, 2007 against five accused including Minhaz in the case. The four other accused are Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leaders Shaekh Abdur Rahman and Ataur Rahman Sunny, Nur Mohammad Babu alias Shamim and Anwar Alam alias Anwar Hossain alias Khokan. Of them, Abdur Rahman and Sunny have already been executed following a Supreme Court verdict for killing two judges of Jhalakathi on November 14 in 2005. The rest three accused are now in jail, the assistant attorney general said. After the attack, Azad was treated at Combined Military Hospital for 26 days. Then the government sent him to Bangkok for better treatment from where he returned home on recovery after over 47 days. Azad went to Germany on August 8 of 2004 to join a conference where he died after three days.